Twenty, including 11 Afghan construction workers, were killed on Sunday in separate bomb blasts similar to those carried out by Taliban insurgents in violence-plagued Afghanistan, authorities said.

Twenty, including 11 Afghan construction workers, were killed on Sunday in separate bomb blasts similar to those carried out by Taliban insurgents in violence-plagued Afghanistan, authorities said.

“They were Afghan civilians working as road workers, engineers and supervisors for a company doing various construction work in the district," police spokesman Abdul Ghafoor said.

In a separate incident, nine people including four police officers were killed when two suicide bombers blew themselves up near a police station.

Seventeen others including soldiers and civilians were injured in the bombings in Helmand, interior ministry spokesman said.

‘Indian role in Kabul crucial’

Stating that India has a crucial role to play in rebuilding Afghanistan, a former top US official has said it would be a "major mistake" to prevent New Delhi from contributing to the development of the war-ravaged country at the insistence of Pakistan.

“I don't think we can afford to turn down assistance from great countries like India. India has a major role to play in Afghanistan,” former US Under Secretary of state for Political Affairs, Nicholas Burns said.

"I don't think we're in the position to say this country cannot participate in rebuilding of Afghanistan because of differences between Pakistan and India," he told Yale Global Online in an interview.